


Rainbow

by s_u_n_b_i_r_d



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Foe Yay, Heart-to-Heart, Heartache, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Love Triangle, May Or May Not Be An AU, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mentions of Injuries, Mentions of Mental Illness, Monkey Wrench! AU, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Starcrossed Lovers, Panic Attacks, Shadow is bad at feelings, Shadow is really touch-starved and doesn't know it, Toxic Behavior, Toxic Character, Toxic Relationships, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, and Timber is kind of dumb, disassociation?, mentions of RaiKim, no beta for this fic we die like men, villanous crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27721205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/s_u_n_b_i_r_d/pseuds/s_u_n_b_i_r_d
Summary: "I used to live in the darknessDress in black, act so heartless,But now I seeThat colors are everything..."---------------"Rainbow," by Kesha--------------It's the middle of the night, and once again, the Xiaolin Dragons find the same girl on their doorstep, looking for one of their own.
Relationships: Kimiko Tohomiko/Original Female Character(s), Shadow (Xiaolin Showdown)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been on a shipping streak for a while now, and to take a break from my main story and do some character exploration, I wrote this as a potential future outcome for my Monkey Wrench! AU. 
> 
> It's about a year after the end of MW!. Shadow, now that she's freed herself from a life of servitude, wanders the world alone, seeing all there is to see while finding ways to make herself stronger and learning about who she is every step of the way. Neither Xiaolin nor Heylin, she considers herself an agent of chaos and is more than happy to cause some trouble for both the Xiaolin Dragons and her *ahem* FORMER mother. While already a powerful Heylin witch and formidable martial artist in her own right, Shadow refuses to be anyone's victim and/or pawn ever again. When she's not refining her skills on the battlefield, she's searching for spells, weapons and artifacts she can use to become the most powerful version of herself she can be - and this often leads her to hunt for the exact same Shen Gong Wu the Xiaolin Dragons seek out themselves. Though not really caring much about the intricacies of the Xiaolin/Heylin conflict, Shadow does consider the Dragons her opponents and rivals in her ongoing quest for power, and isn't afraid to play a little dirty in order to get what she wants. Dishonest, cunning, and curious to a fault, Shadow is always up for a good fight.
> 
> Meanwhile, Timber Wilde, current Dragon of Wood and former enemy of the Xiaolin, has adjusted to life at the temple quite nicely. Having matured quite a bit from the angry, self-destructive teenager she once used to be, she has now come into her own as a Xiaolin Dragon and is a proud member of Raimundo's team. Grateful for the friends she now has and the new home and new chance at life she's been blessed with, she works hard each and every day to catch up to the others with her martial arts skills while also taking special lessons from the Xiaolin's order of doctors. As the only Xiaolin Dragon with healing powers, it is her duty to care for her teammates's well-being, and these days, she spends much of her free time trying to absorb as much information as she can on botany, herbalism, and both ancient and contemporary medicine. Desperate to atone for her past sins and become a better person, Timber does whatever she can to restore her honor and make progress on coping with her trauma and mental illness. And if that wasn't enough to handle, she now struggles with her growing crush on her teammate and dear friend Kimiko.
> 
> Shadow and Timber haven't had the best history, what with Shadow having been created by Wuya specifically to kill Timber and obtain the artifact that Timber herself almost destroyed the world for. But now that their past is behind them and they've since moved on from their former roles as sworn enemies, the question now stands - what do they mean to each other now and where, if anywhere, do they go from here?

Under the light of the autumn moon, a lone figure looked down at the Xiaolin Temple and bared her teeth in a grin.

Through the branches of a willow tree, something not quite animal and not quite human hopped through the leaves with ease. Grunting in pain as she landed onto the grass below, gold-green eyes narrowed at the sight of the spires and rooftops waiting for her at the bottom of the mountain. Catlike pupils widening and narrowing, she blinked once, twice, before dissolving into a shapeless mass of smoke and shadows.

She raced through the night with incredible speed, weaving through the wilderness like a silent specter. It wasn’t long before she reached the Temple, and once she did, she zipped her way over the stone walls before taking on a humanoid form once more. With a satisfied smirk, the figure opened her clawed hands and dropped a chunk of ruined metal that had once been a security camera, chuckling darkly.

_Whoops. Sorry, Jack._

Now walking on all fours along the roof of one of the main buildings, the figure - a girl with short, teal hair and a purple headband - cricked her neck and brought herself back to center. As her long, lizard-like tail wagged back and forth slowly, she narrowed her eyes and paused to sniff the air. Pointed ears swiveling this way and that, the girl crept around in circles as she moved around the roof, searching for something.

Or, more specifically, someone.

Suddenly, a cool wind blew across the valley, and the figure went still as she caught a whiff of something carried on the evening breeze. Closing her eyes and allowing herself to focus, the figure let out a satisfied sigh as she zeroed in on all the smells that made up the distinct scent of the human being she had come here for. A hint of jam - blueberry, of course, because what other fruits did Little Miss Springtime eat? A strong dose of flower pollen - she was the Dragon of WOOD, so no surprise there. Fresh coffee - hmm, now this was a bit of a shock; this particular smell was stronger this time around, and made her overall scent much less sweet and much more bitter than it had been before. Which meant she'd been drinking more of it lately. Which probably meant that she'd gotten into the habit of staying up late. There was also a touch of cigarette smoke - heh, old habits died hard, even for a goody-two-shoes like HER - and last but not least, there were a few traces of what she could only describe as the smells one found in the deepest parts of the forest: pine needles, wild earth, moss, tree bark, and a hint of fallen leaves.

A hint of wood.

As the clouds overhead parted and the moon came back into view, Shadow wagged her tail in satisfaction gleefully. Soon, her olfactory senses mapped out a clear path across the Temple grounds, one that would lead her straight to her target. Now staring at a part of the Temple she hadn't yet ventured into before, Shadow sat back, shifting her weight onto her bad ankle without thinking about it - 

And immediately regretted it.

"AAH!" 

A sharp pain shot up through her foot like lightning, and as the mild sprain in her ankle blossomed into a full-on fracture, the earth and the sky switched places as Shadow tumbled down the roof and onto the ground below. Hissing like a wildcat and engulfed in agony, Shadow clutched a handful of dewy grass as she tried to lift herself up off the ground. But it was no use. Her body didn't seem to want to move, and somewhere between the roof and here, the world had gone all fuzzy.

Oof. That little fall of hers hadn't been so 'little,' had it?

Her ear wiggled back and forth as her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of footsteps, and through the blur of colors and shapes, a tall, broad-shouldered figure turned a corner and ran up to her, saying something she couldn't understand in a drawl she recognized. As Shadow struggled to keep her eyes open, they leaned over her, and a sprinkle of freckles filled her vision.

But then the darkness washed over her, and there was nothing.

\------------------------------

_Knock knock knock._

"Timber? Hey, Timber? You decent?"

"Huh?! Oh! S-Shoot!"

Startled by the sudden knocking, the Dragon of Wood fumbled with the cup in her hand, accidentally spilling a few drops of coffee on the withered old scroll in front of her. Cursing under her breath, the Canadian immediately tried to blot at the stain with a nearby sock, blowing on it in a desperate attempt to help it dry. But the damage was done - as of tonight, the Xiaolin's special copy of _The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine_ would forever carry a large, unsightly stain in its section on gastrointestinal problems. _Great_ , Timber thought, sighing and covering her face. That's exactly what she needed right now - another reason to give her critics in the Temple an excuse to gossip behind her back.

On the other side of the room, the Dragon of Fire groaned softly, clearly as displeased by the knocking as Timber herself was. Mumbling in her sleep, Kimiko buried herself deeper and deeper into her pastel blankets, until the only part of her that could be seen were the two little ears of her panda onesie. Careful not to wake her roommate, Timber stood up and made her way over to the bedroom door, and to whoever was waiting on the other side. Rubbing her eyes and trying to ignore the coffee stains on her shirt, she opened the door...

And came face to face with a pair of sky-blue eyes.

"....Tex?" Pushing her messy blonde hair out of her face, Timber looked Clay up and down, blinking in confusion. "Tex, what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep already? You've got training with Master Guan tomo - "

"I-I know," stuttered Clay, rubbing the back of his neck the way he always did when he was anxious - and this action made Timber realize that whatever he came here for, was serious. "And I'm sorry for dropping in like this. L-Listen - I know you're busy studyin' for your exams, but we got ourselves a situation, and we could really use your healing powers right about now."

Stunned by the implications, Timber's stomach began to sink, and as the worst came to mind, two faces in particular rose over the anxiety and fear that was rising within her. "Jack.....Jack, is Jack okay? Where...where is he, what happened?! What about Jermaine?! Did he get hurt?! Did Chase come back and do something to him again - ?!"

"Tim, relax!" interrupted Clay, placing his hands on her shoulder to calm her down. "Jack and Jermaine are FINE! Heck, last time I saw them was when I left to get some water about fifteen minutes ago, and they were both sawin' more logs than an Oregon lumberjack."

Sagging with relief, Timber fell against the door frame, closing her eyes in gratitude. "Thank goodness. But...but then who - ?"

"Shadow."

Timber fell silent. As she stiffened under his hands, Clay looked away, unable to bring himself to meet her eyes. "It's...it's Shadow. She's back. And she really needs your help."

Nostrils flaring, Timber sucked in a long, deep breath, forcing her anger down with all she had in her. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"I wish I was, Tim," replied Clay with a shrug. "But...I'm not. You know I - You know none of us would ask you for something like this if we could take care of it ourselves."

Sighing bitterly, Timber tossed her hair and crossed her arms. "Alright. What is it THIS time?"

"Well, she's in pretty bad shape. She..." Clay paused, scratching the side of his face nervously. From the way he had gone pale at her question, Timber deduced that the answer wouldn't be all that pleasant to hear. "It...it ain't life or death, as far as I can tell, but she can't walk. At all. Her ankle's all swollen, and she's still a little shaken up from falling off the roof - "

"SHE FELL OFF THE ROOF - ?!"

Suddenly, a noise from behind Timber made them both jump. Holding their breath and going still, Clay and Timber both turned to look at Kimiko, still buried under her covers, fast asleep. The sight of her rosy cheeks and long eyelashes made Timber's heart ache in the softest, sweetest way possible, and suddenly, all the anger of her grudge towards Shadow disappeared, just like that. Unwilling to wake up her crush for something like this, Timber carefully backed out of the room and closed the door gently behind her before turning her attention to Clay. "Where is she now?"

"In the kitchen with Rai. I woke up him to let him know what was going on, and we helped her get somewhere she'd be more comfortable."

"Shouldn’t we wake the others? She's an enemy, right? One of us should probably guard the Wu Vault."

"Nah. I already asked Rai, and he said no." Biting back a yawn, Clay rubbed the back of his head and shrugged "You got good instincts, Tim, but I don’t think we need to worry. Shadow really ain't much of a threat with the way she is now. All helpless, and weak. It's..." His eyes softened. "It's a little sad to see someone like her in a situation like this. A couple of times...I think I even caught her trying not to cry."

"Yeahhh, don't trust that," answered Timber curtly. "If there's one thing you need to remember about her, it's that Bug Breath _knows how to act._ Betcha a double-double from Timmies that those were just crocodile tears."

Clay's brow furrowed. "That's a little harsh, ain't it, Tim?"

"Maybe. But it's the truth." Stretching her arms up over her head, Timber pulled a hair tie out of her pocket and began to tie her bushy blonde hair back into a ponytail. "Alright, Tex. You head on back to the kitchen and let the Boss know I'm on my way. I'm gonna go grab some medical supplies from the greenhouse. Give me five minutes tops, and whatever you do, do NOT let your guard down around Godzilla, even for a second. I know her better than anyone else, and I know what she can do. If you're not careful, you'll regret it. You hear me? _You'll regret it."_

"Heh," chuckled Clay nervously. "No pressure." Watching as she began to make her way down the hallway, he sent her a friendly wave and a gentle smile that put her a little more at ease. "Thanks, Tim. Good luck."

"Yeah," said Timber, biting her lip and smiling back at him over her shoulder. "You too, Tex."

As the burly Texan went in the opposite direction, Timber turned back around and let out a long weary sigh. The smile on her face faded into a bitter scowl, and her gentle brown eyes grew dark and troubled as she braced herself for what lay ahead.

"...We're gonna need it."


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright. Tea's ready."

Balancing the tray in his hands with great care, Clay made his way over to the low table in the corner of the kitchen, where two figures sat across from each other in absolute silence. Sitting himself down on the cushion between them, the burly Texan poured them each a cup of jasmine tea and placed them in front of their recipients. "Sorry for the wait," he apologized, though he knew for a fact neither one of them was particularly thirsty at the moment. Sitting back and pouring himself a cup, Clay blew on his tea once, twice, and took a long steady sip as he looked back and forth between the others and tried to pretend that everything about this strange situation was completely normal.

To his right sat Raimundo, seated on his own cushion with his prosthetic leg resting on the floorboards just beside him. With those tastelessly colorful boxers and a ratty shirt that read "BRO-ZIL", it was painfully obvious that he had just rolled out of bed. But even in his humble attire, he was every bit as commanding as he would have been if he had been wearing his full Shoku regalia. With his back straight and his hands resting in his lap, he ignored the cup of tea in front of him as his sharp green eyes glared at the person across from him.

 _If looks could kill,_ Clay thought to himself.

Keeping his body language as neutral as possible, Clay sipped his tea and glanced to his left.

Across the table from Raimundo sat none other than Shadow Young, Heylin witch, known troublemaker and Dragon of Yin herself. With a black eye, her bad leg stretched out on a few extra cushions and her scaly skin littered with dozens of cuts and bruises, she wasn't quite as intimidating as she normally was. But even in her sorry state, she stared back at the Dragon of the Wind with a smirk full of mischief, her tail flicking back and forth calmly behind her. Her sly gaze made Clay's hair stand on end, and suddenly, he found himself thinking about Grandma Lily's old barn cat, and the way she would look at a bird seconds before pouncing and ripping it to shreds.

Trying not to be too obvious, Clay stole a quick glance at Shadow's hands and winced at the sight of her sharp, black claws. Unable to bear the tense silence any longer, he cleared his throat politely and forced himself to sound casual. "It's, uh, it's better when it's hot."

Shadow's smile evaporated, and she glared at Clay from the corner of her eye, her slitted pupils narrowing in suspicion. Shooting her an awkward smile, Clay motioned with his hand and tried again. "T-The tea. It's fittin' to get cold if you don't drink it. Um." Coughing into his hand, he looked away and rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "I don't know how you take yours, but we've got some honey and aspartame in the cupboard, if you wanna add - "

 _"UGH!"_ Groaning loudly, Shadow rolled her eyes and snatched her teacup up from the table with an aggressiveness that made Clay flinch. "FINE! If it'll get you to leave me alone, then I'll drink your stupid tea!" With her tail thumping angrily on the floor behind her, she downed her in one go and threw the ceramic teacup into her mouth, chewing on it like a piece of hard candy. Clay went pale at the sight, cringing at the sound of her teeth crushing the pottery into tiny bits, and as he averted his gaze out of politeness, he caught sight of Raimundo's jaw falling open in mild horror.

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes flew open, and Raimundo hurriedly composed himself - but not before she had seen the fear on his face. Snorting in amusement, she swallowed her mouthful of shards and leaned forward with a wicked laugh, resting her elbow on the table in a way Clay KNEW would have gotten on his Mama's nerves. "Aww, what's with that face? Something wrong, Dragonfly? Haven't you ever seen a lady eat before?"

 _You're no lady._ As Raimundo's nostrils flared in frustration, Clay could _hear_ the insult wanting to come into existence, could see his temper rising just behind his green eyes, along with his barely stifled hatred for the girl sitting in front of them. But with a twinge of pride, Clay watched, impressed, as Raimundo remained silent, refusing to give in to Shadow's petty mind games.

Shadow, unfortunately, was not having it. "So, you finally started surfing again, huh? How's that been going for you? Taking it slow because of the...? Uh..." Smacking her lips, she looked across the table and nodded at his prosthetic leg. "You know."

Clay's eyebrows flew up, and next to him, Raimundo sat up straight. "H-How did you - ?!"

"Heard about it through the grape vine," Shadow replied lazily, looking down at her claws and watching them retract and protract. "Salvador was running a con down by the beaches of Rio last week, and he just so happened to see you catching some waves. He told Vlad, Vlad told Ashley, Ashley told Le Mime, and Le Mime...well." She snickered and threw up her hands in a casual shrug. "You know how bad he is with keeping secrets."

Raimundo's eyes narrowed at the sight of her widening smirk, but he said nothing, and neither did Clay. Shifting a little in her seat, Shadow began to pick some fish bones out of her gums with her pinky nail - _probably just showing off those chompers of hers,_ Clay thought, and he forced himself not to flinch at the rows and rows of shark-like teeth flashing in the light of the kitchen. "Besides, Dragonfly," continued Shadow, "Even if I didn't get wind of it through worth of mouth, it's pretty obvious where you've been spending your time lately." She tapped her nose. "Don't you ever shower? You smell like saltwater. REEK of it, actually. It's honestly pretty disgusting how overwhelming and invasive the _stench_ is." Raising her eyebrow, Shadow's claws protracted once more, and she grinned up at Raimundo, lazily tracing random patterns into the wooden surface of the table. "You know, I _think_ I remember reading something else about you on the Heylin gossip blog. About how you finally bit the bullet and told your Firefly how you _really_ feel about her?"

Raimundo stiffened, and Clay's blood turned to ice. _Oh no._

Chuckling at the effect her words were having on the Brazilian in front of her, Shadow glanced back down at the table, carving a heart into the wood with great care. "You know, I really don't get what any of you see in that pipsqueak. She's prissy, she's spoiled, she can't last one day without her precious technology - if you ask me, she's all smoke and no substance - "

"Nobody asked you," snarled Raimundo, his hands balling up into fists.

"Maybe not," Shadow shrugged, clearly relishing his building rage. "But as much as I hate that shrimp, a proper villainess always gives credit where credit is due. I can't say I'm a fan of hers, but I'll give her this - "

Shadow raised her eyes to meet Raimundo's furious gaze and flashed him a wicked, sadistic smile. With a final stroke of her finger, she dug her nail into the heart she had drawn on the table and sliced it perfectly in two.

"She made the right call, turning down your confession like that. _I_ wouldn't want a boyfriend who smelled like low tide either - "

**_"Sua bruxa \- !"_ **

Blinded by instinct, Raimundo instinctively leapt to his feet in his fury - so quickly, in fact, that he forgot that he wasn't wearing his prosthetic. Losing his balance, Raimundo began to wobble and lean dangerously far to the right. But before he could even get close to the ground, Clay caught him by the wrist and pulled him back up, supporting his weight and trying to calm him down with reassuring words. "Rai, it's okay, it's OKAY, don't let her get to you - "

Delighted by his reaction, Shadow threw her head back and cackled like a hyena, and in that moment, she had never looked more like Wuya and Chase's daughter. As Raimundo cussed up a storm in Portuguese and struggled to hold back the tears in his eyes, Clay shot Shadow a stone-cold glare, all warmth and goodwill _gone._ "Shadow, that's _enough!_ You ain't got no right bringing Rai's personal affairs up like that! It's none of your business and you know it!"

"Spare me your preaching, Earthworm!" snapped Shadow, pounding her fist on the table hard enough to make the walls shake. "It was just a little villainous banter! It's not _my_ fault Dragonfly here can't take a joke!" Scoffing in disgust, Shadow snatched up Raimundo's tea and scowled as she drank it down. "Honestly, this is why Jack's the best Dragon. He's the only one around here with a decent sense of humor."

From deep within Clay, anger, hot and fierce, began to bubble below the surface. "You're sick in the head."

"You think so, huh? Well, you're one to talk." Shadow slammed her cup down and narrowed her eyes at Clay in a silent challenge. "What are you gonna do to me, Earthworm? Huh? Have another 'meltdown'? Cause another earthquake? But I guess I better keep my mouth shut, huh? Wouldn't want to trigger a guy whose powers trigger tsunamis and volcanos every time he gets a wittle bit angwy."

Clay went pale as the blood left his face, and beside him, Raimundo's temper flared up once more. "Hey, leave him alone!" he Raimundo, leaning his weight on the table so he could look Shadow in the eye. "He didn't mean any of that! He wasn't healthy back then!"

"Who says he's 'healthy' NOW?!"

"Listen, you dirty, rotten - !"

"Oh, give it a rest, Dragonfly! Earthworm's pushing 20! He's a grown man! He can defend himself!"

As the two began to argue, Clay took a step back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tiny amethyst geode. The humble green surface on the outside blossomed into a dazzling array of small purple crystals, and as Clay ran his fingers over the jagged, rough surfaces of the geode, he felt his sudden rush of guilt and anger fading away as the texture of the stone grounded him in the present. Collecting himself and letting out a deep breath, Clay cut through the argument and changed the subject. "Why are you acting like this?" he asked Shadow. "I don't understand! We're just trying to help you!"

"No!" snapped Rai. "YOU'RE trying to help her! I'M just here to make sure she doesn't try something on you or Timber! Rrgh!" Clutching a hand to his head in frustration, Raimundo sat himself down on the ground and began to put on his prosthetic leg, seething with rage the whole time. "I knew it! I KNEW it was a bad idea to say yes to this, but like an idiot, I did it anyway - !"

"Raimundo, buddy, what else were we supposed to do - ?"

"Thrown her out of the Temple! She's not our problem, Clay! We don't have to put up with her, she can go somewhere else - !"

"Rai, she can't even WALK, how is she supposed to go _anywhere_ with a foot injury - ?!"

"She's a _shapeshifter!_ She can grow wings and fly! Or turn into that weird smoke-ball thing like she did in our last Showdown!" Now standing on two legs, Raimundo turned back to Shadow, all but shaking in anger. "I've seen you turn into hundreds of different things, Shadow! Animals, people, even a DINOSAUR once! Can't you just - I don't know - rearrange your bones until they're back to normal, or something?!"

"Hey, Dragonfly!" growled Shadow, "It doesn't work like that! Just because I can shapeshift doesn't mean I can magically fix my own injuries!"

"Aren't you Wuya's hellspawn?! _Don't you have actual magic?!"_

"I don't need your commentary, you idiot! What I need is your HEALER! If you've got a problem with me, then guess what - _you don't have to be here!_ You can go back to your cozy little bed with your stupid little bear and pretend this was all just a big, bad, nasty dream - !"

"I'm not leaving anyone in my team alone with you!"

"Always so sentimental aren't you, Pedrosa?! So noble! So _kind!_ Hmph! And yet, somehow, you STILL didn't get the girl, huh, Lover Boy? Guess your precious Firefly just doesn't go for sensitive guys - "

"Hey!" barked Clay, keeping a tight reign on his anger. "That's enough, Shadow!"

_ "Oh stay out of it, you useless oaf!" _

There was a loud crashing sound as the table before them was flipped over, the teapot and remaining teacup thrown across the room and shattering to pieces on the wall. But even as hot brown liquid spilled across the floorboards, Clay and Raimundo dared not take their eyes off the creature crouching on the ground in front of them. While Raimundo cursed under his breath in Portuguese, Clay's eyes grew big as the scales on Shadow's skin began to change color, flashing brightly and taking on different shades of fiery reds and hot, molten oranges. Her eyes had changed color too, from their usual catlike gold-green to a vivid stoplight yellow, and even her hair had taken on a threatening shade of yellow-green.

As she bared her fangs at them, venom began to drip and fizzle on the floorboards in front of her, boring through the wood as she swore and spat at the boys. "You think I LIKE talking to either of you?! You think I came all this way on a sprained foot just to sit here and waste my time on two Xiaolin lapdogs with no mind or will of their own?! Well I DIDN'T!" Hair fluffing up and tail whipping back and forth in rage, Shadow leaned as far forward as she could without moving her bad leg off the cushions, hissing and yowling and spitting like - 

_Like a cornered animal,_ realized Clay. _Like a scared, feral creature with nowhere else to go._

"Read my lips, Xiaolin Losers!" Shadow spat. "I didn't come here for you! _I came here for - !"_

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen flew open.

Everyone turned to face Timber standing in the doorway, a basket of freshly picked plants under one arm and an absolutely _lethal_ expression on her face. As she strode into the room, keeping her head high and taking full advantage of her height, she stood beside Raimundo like a bodyguard and crossed her arms sternly. "Is there a problem here?"

"Timber!" Relief washing over him like a wave, Clay stepped forward and flashed her a grateful smile. "Boy, am I glad to see you right now!" 

"...!" 

A sudden gasp caught their attention, and everyone turned to look at Shadow, who had quieted down the second Timber had stepped into the room. Blinking in surprise as her scales and eyes flashed with a color he hadn't seen on her before, Clay watched as Shadow immediately shifted back into her original colors and sat up, clearing her throat self-consciously. But within seconds, she had sunken back into her old self, throwing on a lazy smirk as she turned her attention to the Dragon of Wood. "Well, well, well," she snarked, sitting back on her cushion. "If it isn't the resident Spring goddess herself. Hello, Tapeesa. Miss me?"

Beside Clay, the Canadian's eye twitched at the sound of her real name. "It's Timber," she said coldly.

"Of course it is," replied Shadow breezily. "Love your new look, by the way. I'm gonna miss your old hairstyle - you pulled off punk SO well - but since you've been working so hard to grow it out....mmm...I guess it was about time to try something different. You look good, Springtime. _Real_ good." Running her eyes up and down Timber's body, Shadow snorted in amusement at her maple leaf pajama bottoms and the cheesy Bigfoot design on her Gros Morne National Park tee. "Aww! Did you dress up on my account?" she cooed, placing a hand over her heart. "How sweet!"

"Ugh..." Covering her face with her hands and groaning loudly, Timber's Newfoundland accent thickened as her temper started to rise. "Lord Thunderin' Jeezus, just _shut up already, wouldja?"_

Shadow threw her head back and laughed again, covering her mouth in a display of girlish glee. But this time, it wasn't a malicious laugh like the one she had at Raimundo's expense earlier. It was playful, almost genuine, and as she looked back up at Timber, there was a strange warmth in her eyes Clay had never seen before. "...It's good to see you again, Tapeesa," she murmured quietly.

Confused by the sudden change in Shadow’s behavior, Clay glanced at Timber from the corner of his eye. But as expected, she, like Raimundo, just held Shadow’s gaze with a steely look on her face. Undeterred by this, Shadow leaned forward eagerly, still totally focused on Timber as she piped up again. "It's been a long time since we've gotten an opportunity to chat, Springtime. I came all this way, just for you, you know! Aren't you even gonna welcome me back?" Wagging her tail happily, Shadow smiled at Timber again with something like adoration. "Come on, talk to me. How've you been?" 

“Just terrible, ever since you got here."

Shadow's smirk fell, and with an exasperated sigh she rolled her eyes and sat back, her tail going still as she gave up for the moment. "Tch," she scoffed bitterly. "You're impossible."

As Shadow crossed her arms and fell silent - _For once,_ Clay noted, impressed by Timber's effect on her - Timber took the opportunity to place her hand on Raimundo's shoulder and give him a supportive smile. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Boss, but I'll go ahead and take over from here. You two can go back to bed. I'll be fine on my own. This won't take long. Promise."

"You sure you'll be fine?" Lowering his voice and pulling Timber aside, Raimundo's nose wrinkled as he glanced back at Shadow, worry and suspicion darkening his eyes. "I trust you, Timber, but I don't feel right leaving you alone with that thing."

Ears twitching testily at the last word in that sentence, Shadow's expression darkened as her tail began to move back and forth in irritation.

Clay knew an impending screaming match when he saw one - Lord knows he'd seen enough of them at home, those awful times when he was caught in the crossfire between Patrick and Daddy, or Mama and Jessie. Before things got heated again, the Texan stepped in and placed a steady hand on Raimundo's shoulder. "I-I'll stay with her, Rai!" he offered, knowing nothing good would ever come of having him and Shadow in the same room. "Y'all ain't gotta worry about a thing, partner. I'll hold down the fort for you. And if you still don't feel right about stepping back, you can wait outside the door until we're done." 

_"What?!"_

Everyone whirled around to face Shadow, who, of course, had heard everything thanks to her sensitive hearing. As her eyes flashed white in her shock, her hair began to poof up again, and as short as it was, the effect was mildly intimidating. For a split second, Clay was reminded of an agitated owl he had seen in a nature documentary, and the way it had fluffed up its feathers, doing everything it could to make itself look bigger as it tried to scare off a predator. " **NO!"** shouted Shadow, shaking her head like a petulant child. "No, no, no, no, NO! Absolutely not! I don't want you hanging around while she patches me up, you creep!"

"No one was asking you!" shouted Raimundo. "And back off! This is a TEAM conversation! You don't have a say in this!"

"I'm the patient, not you! If anyone has any say in this, it's ME!" As the rough patches of scales on her skin began to flash red once more, Shadow hissed in displeasure like a feral cat protecting its turf. "I came here for _Springtime!_ SHE'S the healer around here! SHE'S supposed to treat me, not him! SHE'S the one I go to whenever I'm hurt! Her and nobody else! Why else would I risk getting into so many - ?!"

Freezing in mid-sentence, Shadow's scales immediately changed tone as she realized what she was saying. But instead of hot, furious reds, they were now a weak and sickly yellow, like the face of a guilty man who had just been caught lying in court. Fascinated by the sight, Clay pushed his bangs out of his face as he watched the Heylin witchling go from yellow to red and back again, over and over and over. Stumbling over her words as she flickered like a broken Christmas light, Shadow finally shook her head, and as she regained her composure, so too did her color scheme. "L-Look, I don't trust you! Okay?! She's a girl! You're not! Female patients go to female doctors, right?! A-And besides, I've known HER all my life - literally, ALL MY LIFE - but I don't know ANYTHING about YOU! You're a stranger! You're nobody! You're - !"

"My teammate."

Shadow faltered at the sound of Timber's voice, and as the colors on her skin swirled around like the liquid in a lava lamp, Timber stepped forward and put her foot down. "He's my teammate," she said sternly. "He's my friend. Tex here? He's like a brother to me. I trust him with my _life._ And Raimundo - " she continued, jabbing her thumb at Raimundo. "He's our Leader. He calls the shots around here, not you. If he says Clay should stay, then he stays. And that's that." Putting her hands on her hips, Timber cocked her head to the side, and the plants in her basket began to writhe around slowly as her Wood element shone green in her eyes. "Now are you gonna keep wasting our time, or are you gonna stop acting like a little kid and let me do my job?"

"But...! But I - !" Opening and closing her mouth, Shadow's colors took on additional shades of grey and blue as she changed from color palette to color palette and tried to come up with a good argument. But in the end, she knew she was beat, and her entire body turned black as she stifled her anger and crossed her arms in a pout. _"Fine,"_ she hissed through clenched teeth. "Have it your way, Springtime."

Nodding in satisfaction, Timber reached into her basket, pulling out a bundle of leaves the length of a yardstick and the width of her arm. Turning to Clay, her stern expression melted away as she held them out to him with a friendly smile. "Hey, Tex. You mind washing these for me? I could use some help with the prep work, since you're sticking around and all."

"Yes, ma'am!" Winking at her, Clay reached up to tip his hat - and immediately flushed red as he remembered he left it back in his room. As Timber snorted with laughter and clapped him playfully on the shoulder, Clay turned to Raimundo and nodded towards the door. "We got this all under control, partner. Come on. I'll walk you out."

Looking over his shoulder one last time, first at Timber, then at Shadow, Raimundo let out a breath and relented. "Okay. But if she tries ANYTHING - "

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Shadow. "Get out of here already, Pedrosa."

Mouth hardening into a tight, thin line, Raimundo shook his head and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Watching him go with concern, Clay made his way over to the sink and began to wash the leaves as per Timber's instructions. As they took on a healthier shade of green, Clay looked over his shoulder to ask her what his next task was - 

\- And fell silent at what he saw.

Crouched over her basket of flowers and leaves, Timber began to lay her things out on the floor, arranging them in front of her and muttering to herself under her breath as she made a mental checklist of what she needed to do. With her leg still stretched out and her tail thumping back and forth, Shadow watched her, pouting and crossing her arms as her whole body - skin, eyes and hair - slowly lightened into a dark charcoal grey.

Finishing her work, Timber sat back, nodded once, and grabbed a handful of wet leaves, soft as paper towels from the solution they had been soaking in earlier. Gathering them up in her arms, Timber scooted closer to Shadow so she could start to wash off the dirt and grime on her skin - 

And the moment their shoulders brushed together, Shadow's eyes - and the patchy, irregular scales on her cheeks and arms - flashed pink. The same shade of pink, Clay realized, that she had briefly changed into when Timber had entered the room earlier. It was a soft, warm, dreamy pink, like the clouds in the sky at dawn, like cherry blossoms in the Spring....

...Like the blush on someone’s cheeks.

Clay's eyes widened, and in his shock, he dropped the leaves into the sink as one thought echoed through his mind:

What in tarnation was going on? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may notice that Shadow’s a little bit different from canon in this fic. But like canon Shadow, my Shadow has a huge chameleon motif in her design. Canon Shadow was probably given that motif because as a shapeshifter, she’s supposed to “blend in” with her surroundings. Like a chameleon. 
> 
> But did you know real life chameleons don’t actually change color for camouflage? They do it for two reasons. One is to regulate body temperature, turning into light colors to reflect sunlight and dark colors to absorb it.
> 
> The second reason? To communicate with other chameleons and tell them how they feel. 
> 
> In other words, chameleons change color due to their emotions ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter you are about to read is just pure, shameless angst and drama along the lines of Bubbline, HomuMado and Glitra. and it's my first time I'm posting something like this. and honestly ...I refuse to apologize for it. you read the tags. you all knew what you signed up for. I regret nothing. but also please don't hate me for this. but also I'm not sorry. but don't judge me. nobody asked for this, I wrote it anyway, I posted it, it's done. love you. bye.

"Ow.....Ow......Ow!.......Owwwwwww..... _Ow_.... _OW_.... **OW!** "

As Shadow's tail began to writhe like an angry viper, a low, raspy voice broke the silence. "You know, this would go a _lot_ faster if you'd stop moving around so much."

Shadow didn't respond - well, not with words at least. A low, feral growl began to rumble forth from the back of her throat - a sound not unlike an agitated alligator in some swamp. Or perhaps, a jaguar prowling through the rainforest at night. Either way, it sent a clear message out to whomever was unlucky enough to hear it. _Back off. Go away. I am in a BAD mood and I can and WILL hurt you._

"HEY," said the voice, this time with an added layer of steel. "I know this hurts, Godzilla, but just try to relax, alright? I gotta finish this up."

Biting back an instinctive roar, Shadow kept her eyes shut and tried to distract herself with mental exercises Chase had taught her during their last lesson together. If she was being honest with herself, Shadow would have MUCH preferred having learned some tips on how to effortlessly crush an enemy's skull into dust. Or perhaps maybe even pointers on how to craft proper armor, seeing as how good battle gear was hard to come by in the modern cities she sometimes passed through. Those were far more practical, worthwhile lessons than the two-hour lecture on 'fortitude' her so-called father had put her through the last time she had spent the night at his lair. But as much as she hated to admit it, Chase's stupid, boring lecture on 'patience and focus' was now paying off with interest. As she slowly began to sink into the meditative state he had taught her how to enter when she was about to lose control, she could feel her stress and unease melting away, little by little. And soon, all that existed was a state of total tranquility, an endless, primal darkness, so familiar, so safe - 

_"AAH!"_

Aaaaaaaand it was gone. A fresh stab of pain tore Shadow out of her meditation and hurled her back into the present. With her threadbare restraint snapping in two, she let out a monstrous roar and snatched the other girl by the wrist, screaming fiercely into her face. "That! _STINGS!_ "

"It's _disinfectant!_ " Timber shouted back. "It's _supposed_ to sting! Could you stop being such a crybaby for FIVE MINUTES?! I have brought you back from WAY worse than this, and you know it! Suck it up!"

For a moment, those words didn't even register. Shadow's eyes widened in awe at TImber's fearless reaction, and as Timber's deep tan skin flushed red in her frustration, her heart beat faster. Timber always DID have a way of changing into the prettiest colors when she was angry, and the way the freckles on her nose stood out more because of it was quite distracting...

But soon enough, she fell back to reality as Timber pulled herself free from her grip. "Are you done with your drama yet, Godzilla?!" she barked indignantly, "Or are you just gonna sit here and keep ruining my night?!"

The words in that last sentence stung more that she would have liked to admit, but Shadow refused to show it. With a toss of her hair, she threw her head back in a haughty laugh. Because she was Shadow Young, and she didn't back down to anyone. Not even to _her._ "Unbelievable!" she cackled. "All those study sessions, all those textbooks, and you STILL can't seem to learn the basics on bedside manner! Guess some things just don't change, eh, _Tapeesa?"_ Smirking at the indignant way Timber's eyes widened at her real name, Shadow savored her small victory over the other girl as she sat back and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a shame. The Dragon of Wood just can't seem to get a handle on her own THORNY personality. Awww, but don't fret too much, Goldilocks. After all, you ARE still learning how to BE the Dragon of Wood. And a student is only as good as their master. Be honest, sweetheart - what ARE these fools even teaching you? Tips on growing a spice garden? How to perfectly prune a rosebush? HAH! Typical. These Xiaolin zealots don't know a thing about REAL power, and they're just too chicken to buckle down and _learn._ How can you possibly reach your potential here when they're doing everything they can to stunt your growth and keep you tame? A wild soul like you, left to rot in a gilded cage like this - tch. What a waste."

During her banter, Shadow had (carefully and calculatedly) edged her way closer to the taller girl, leaning her head on Timber's shoulder in a way that made the Dragon of Wood's face twitch in discomfort at her close proximity. As the sour, offended look on Timber's face scrunched up into a comical expression of disgust, Shadow reached up and absentmindedly played with a lock of Timber's hair, admiring its color and softness as she twirled it around her clawed finger. "If you ask ME, Tapeesa, it's high time you said your goodbyes to these people. You know. Be a big girl and carve out your own path in the world, and all that rot. I did it. You can do it too. Come on, sweetheart. What say you go pack your things and join me for a little road trip - ?"

 _"Timber!_ My name is _TIMBER!_ "

Smile faltering as the other girl shoved her back, Shadow watched as Timber held onto her hair protectively with a look that was colder then the first frost of winter. "We're not having this conversation tonight, Shadow, so don't even waste your breath! I don't have the patience! Not tonight! My place is HERE! I belong HERE! I'm the Xiaolin Dragon of Wood, and I'm not giving that up for anybody, now deal with it!"

Narrowing her eyes, Shadow snarled in frustration and sat back, glaring at the other girl and pouting like a child. Tail moving back and forth testily, the Heylin witchling watched as the Dragon of Wood reached for her supplies and picked up another of the long, vibrant leaves Clay had washed for her earlier. "Okay," she huffed, nostrils flaring. "Let's try this AGAIN."

As she realized what was about to happen, Shadow began hissing like an angry cat and leaned out of her reach, as far as she could with her injured leg still keeping her rooted in place. Cheeks puffing up in anger, Timber squealed and grunted as she tried, again and again, to get ahold of her reluctant patient. But with every movement she made, Shadow resisted, more and more and more, and that only frustrated Timber more. "Come ON, Godzilla, you know this was coming! The only way out is _through._ Neither of us want to be here, but I gotta do this, so just! Hold! _Still!"_

"HISSSSSSSSSSS!"

Just as Timber finally had her cornered, Shadow grabbed the other girl by the face and pushed her away. As Timber screamed muffled obscenities into the palm of her hand, Shadow scooted backwards, not even bothering to hide her fear anymore. "NOPE! Nope! Nope nope nope not nope, I change my mind!" she stammered. "I change my mind, I'm done, this doctor's visit is officially over, just show me the exit and I'll be out of your hair lickety split - !"

"Ohhhhh, no! Don't you dare give me that BS!"

Before she could realize what was happening, Timber pulled herself free from Shadow's grip and got on her feet, seething in rage. "You don't get to break into OUR Temple and wake me and my team up in the middle of the night JUST so you can bail out on us whenever its convenient for you! You wanted this, _we're doing this!_ NURSE?!"

While Timber stood above her, nostrils flared and teeth gritted, Shadow glanced awkwardly from side to side as a lengthly silence wedged its way into the middle of their conversation. After a moment or two of hostile (thought CERTAINLY not unwelcome) eye contact, Shadow blinked in confusion and watched as Timber turned her head to the side and spoke to the only other person in the room. "Psst! Clay! That's your cue!"

"H-Huh?! Oh!"

Scowling and rolling her eyes - _Oh. Right. HE'S still here._ \- Shadow turned her attention to the brawny Texan hovering a few feet away, her lip curling back to reveal her teeth. As the burly young man looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion, Shadow raised a suspicious eyebrow at the intense, but unrecognizable expression in his wide blue eyes. "R-Right, uh...s-sorry, Tim, w-what was it that you said again?"

Timber snorted, but there wasn't an ounce of malice in it whatsoever. "Get your butt over here, ya goof. I need you."

"Excuse me? You _need_ him?" While Clay shuffled closer to the two of them and sat down on the ground beside Timber, Shadow's eye twitched in jealousy as his shoulder lightly brushed against hers. As her envy deepened, so too did the tones of green blossoming across her skin, and when his gaze wandered over to her, Clay hastily looked away and kept his eyes down as Shadow stared daggers into his soul. "Need him for what, exactly?" she spat, all but growling at the boy intruding on her personal time with Timber.

"I need him to hold you down."

_"WHAT?!"_

Leaping back with an offended look on her face, Shadow sputtered gracelessly as she pressed herself up against the wall, her skin flashing yellow with cowardice. "W-Why does he need to - ?! What are you planning to do to - ?!" she squeaked, tail going rigid and straight in fright behind her. But it wasn't long before Shadow's skin tone darkened to a ferocious red, and she remembered Chase's stern advice to never show weakness in front of the enemy. "D-Don't you dare take another step closer Bailey, do you hear me?!" she spat, unsheathing her claws threateningly. "You put one hand on me, and I'll rip your teeth right out of your gums!"

"You touch one hair on his sweet little head, and I'll be wearing _your_ teeth as earrings tomorrow."

Whipping her head back to Timber with an offended glare on her face, Shadow's jaw dropped open as the Dragon of Wood crossed her arms and gave her that stern, stubborn glare Shadow both loved and loathed so much. "Sorry, Godzilla. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this, but if you really want to keep me from doing my job, he's gonna have to restrain you - for _your_ own sake, not mine. Remember, it's not MY health that's on the line here. And I am NOT gonna waste any more time. We're getting you fixed up _tonight_. I want you out of this Temple before sunrise, and so does Rai. So either you put on your big girl pants and keep yourself in check, or Tex here gives me a hand and does it for you. Got that?" 

Shadow stared at Timber, not understanding at all what pants had to with the situation at hand, and confused as to why putting any on would classify her as a 'big girl'. But as her anger intensified into a resounding bitterness, the scarlet color on Shadow's scales darkened until it was a deep maroon. Even her eyes had begun to glow red in her raw frustration at the situation she was in. "He isn't even supposed to _be_ here," she snarled through gritted teeth. "I came here for YOUR help, why is HE here? Why can't he just leave?! _Why does he have to hold me down?!"_

"What, you want _me_ to hold you down?"

"....!"

Shadow bit back a squeak as a raunchy mental image danced across her mind, and for one brief second, the coloration of her entire body changed to a telltale palette of vivid, flustered magentas. But Timber - sweet, DENSE Timber - didn't even notice. At the very least, she didn't react to the way Shadow avoided meeting her eyes, or the way she stiffened when Timber knelt down in front of her. "Godz.... _Shadow._ Look, come on. If you cooperate, we can all get through this together. I'll do my part and go slow, okay? I'll be as careful as I can. And if it starts to hurt, and you think you're gonna freak out again, you just take a deep breath and hold Nurse Clay's hand. He does it all the time, and all my other patients say it helps them feel better." Thick eyebrows flying up, Timber leaned forward with a patient warmth Shadow hadn't seen before that night. "So. You ready to try again?"

As Shadow glanced back and forth between Timber's face and outstretched hand for a moment, all the fear and anxiety that had gripped her heart earlier began to evaporate, and the only thing that was left was....

Well. She wasn't sure what it was. But it was strange and warm and she didn't completely hate it.

With a loud, resigned sigh (and a sideways glare at the cowboy now at her side), Shadow pushed Timber's hand away and shut her eyes. "You're the worst, Timber Wilde."

"Heh." Even with her eyes closed, Shadow could hear the soft smile hovering at the edges of Timber's voice. "Back atcha, Godzilla."

And with that, a silence, much less stressful and tense than before, filled the room as Timber began to work.

While her skin and hair eased back to its usual color palette, Shadow clenched her teeth and cringed as a sharp, invasive smell assaulted her ultra-sensitive nose once more. Ugh. The _medicine._ She HATED the medicine. The unpleasant burning sensation of the antibacterial properties in the solution was something she could NOT get used to, no matter how many times she encountered it, and the awful odor it gave off was somehow even worse. It permeated all of the air in the room like an invisible stain, and even hours after she smelled it, her head would feel light and a persistent ache would still be slowly pounding its way through the front of her skull. The way it burned like fire without flames, the way the stench made her want to throw up her lunch, the disgusting, slimy texture it had, like the algae skimmed off of a stagnant pond - oh, how Shadow HATED the medicine. Though it worked wonders and started healing her body the second it came into contact with her skin, it was easily the most unbearable part of this entire experience.

But putting up with this torture was worth it if it meant she could be this close to Timber.

Though her jaw was still rigid and her eyebrow twitched in irritation, Shadow's heart beat faster in her chest as a pair of warm, gentle hands brushed across her scales, carefully tending to her wounds and wrapping them in long, bandage-like leaves. Luckily, Timber had been smart enough to get the worst out of the way and had bandaged up her foot before working on any of the cuts and bruises on Shadow's arms. The strange leaves that covered Shadow's bad leg gave off a cooling sensation that soothed her swollen ankle like an icepack, and the Heylin witchling could already feel the pain beginning to fade. After a full week of having to play it safe and keep her full weight off of one foot, Shadow couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and as she did, she opened her eyes once again and looked up at the girl she'd come to see.

Fully focused on bandaging up an especially bad gash on Shadow's forearm, Timber didn't even notice she was being watched so intensely by her own patient. Shadow, of course, had absolutely no problem with this. When they would argue - when Timber was watching - she didn't exactly have the luxury of letting her guard down or showing weakness, especially in front of other Xiaolin Dragons. She was, after all, still trespassing on enemy territory, and thanks to her bad slip earlier, she was even more vulnerable than usual. Appearances had to be kept up, and all potential enemies needed to be reminded of how much damage she could inflict if they got a little too close. But even with Clay hovering beside her like an especially pesky fly, Timber was too busy concentrating on her work to be fully aware of her surroundings, and Shadow was not going to pass up the opportunity to sneak a glance or two. Right now, her gaze was free to wander.

And wander it did.

It had been months since they'd last seen each other, and in that time, Timber's appearance had changed quite a bit. The fluffy golden hair that had been so short and choppy when they'd first met had grown out considerably, now resting behind Timber's back in a fishtail braid that swung down past her waist. The baby fat in her round face had begun to fade, and there were now striking, womanly angles in her soft features that took Shadow's breath away the moment she saw them. Biting her lip and blushing at the maturing young adult in front of her, Shadow begrudgingly admitted to herself that perhaps the training the Xiaolin put her through hadn't _all_ been a waste. With the building layer of muscle in her arms, the abs peeking out from the gap between her shirt and pants, and the solid, centered way she was now beginning to carry herself, it seemed as if Little Miss Springtime was finally losing the softness that Shadow had once condemned her for when they'd first met. And while half of Shadow was relieved to finally see her gain an edge - because all powerful women needed an edge if they were to conquer their enemies after all - the other half was sad to see her softness go. There was something...memorable about it. Endearing. _Cute,_ even.

But some things didn't change, not with any amount of time or training. Timber's hair was still as messy as ever, with loose locks and errant curls that threatened to burst out of its conservative style, and the trademark blue hair dye was still present, framing her face in the two tufts beside her ears and woven into the braid on her back like a ribbon. She was still as infuriatingly tall as ever, too, her willowy frame towering over Shadow by a good seven inches - a trait that she would NEVER forgive Timber for, no matter what, even if she kind of liked having to look up at her. And her eyes....

Shadow took in a deep breath, letting it out shakily as the butterflies she had eaten earlier seemed to come back to life in her stomach.

Timber's eyes were the same. Innocent, curious, and hauntingly beautiful, Timber's almond-shaped eyes were as lovely as they'd ever been, reflecting the candlelight around them in that strange, special way that always made the Heylin witchling's heart ache. Deep brown in color and framed by long, thick lashes, they were easily the physical trait Shadow liked most about Timber. They reminded Shadow of the deer she'd sometimes see wandering the woods during her travels, those shy, elusive creatures that would look up and meet her gaze moments before they took off and disappeared into the trees. And just like the animals that flitted through the darkest parts of the forest whenever and wherever they pleased, Shadow would often find those big brown eyes constantly flitting through her own thoughts, whether she wanted them to or not.

Nostrils flaring, Shadow's ears twitched testily as her shoulders began to sag. How utterly pathetic. No matter how far she wandered away from the Temple, no matter how she had rejected her original purpose and the destiny that had been assigned to her by her 'mother', she couldn't seem to escape this girl, _or_ her stupid, pretty eyes. It was absolutely infuriating, not to mention mildly terrifying, to think that one person could have so much power over her as to keep invading her thoughts at all hours of the day and night. It was...it was disgusting, wasn't it? It had to be. It was a disgrace for someone as powerful as her to be kept up at night by something as trivial as another girl's eyes. Cleary, she was beginning to lose her mind.

...Wasn't she?

Suddenly, a fresh sting of pain broke Shadow out of her thoughts. As her tail swung around wildly in response, it whacked against Clay's body by accident, reminding her of his presence. As he glanced at her from the corner of his eye in surprise, Shadow bit back a snarl at the hints of sympathy and concern on his freckled face. How DARE he look at her like that, as if she was something to be pitied, a weak, spineless creature that could only survive by the good grace of someone else's protection? So what if it hurt? So what if she was in pain? It was none of his concern! It never was, and it never would be! She was Shadow Young! Slayer of armies and sworn enemy of the Heylin Witch who once almost ruled the world! She needed help from no one! _No one!_ Especially not from someone as lowly and disgustingly altruistic as HIM.

So Shadow bit her lip, and stayed silent, and hid her free hand in her robes where no one could see it trembling and clutching at the inside of her clothes nervously. Her pride and her dignity took priority over any comfort, no matter how big or small.

Even so, Clay didn't seem to get the message, the IDIOT. Shadow didn't have to look at him to know that he was reading her in that nosy, uncanny way he always did. And soon, he brought up his hand and offered it out to her in a show of good will, offering her a disgustingly sweet smile. But she ignored it, of course, because accepting his hand - or even smiling back - would be a show of friendship.

And she did NOT need friends.

After having endured shame, abuse, and humiliation under Wuya's thumb, and after her experience with the Monkey King, may the bastard rot in the darkest pits of Hell...Shadow was done with bowing to people, presenting her weaknesses to them, making herself vulnerable to their whims and goals. She would never again make herself vulnerable to ANYONE, never bow or back down or show allegiance to anything other than her own wants and needs. No matter the circumstances, no matter what she had to go through, she would never, ever, let herself get involved with anyone else in the Xiaolin or the Heylin ever again.

She would _die_ before she let that happen.

She was better off alone.

"Alright, Godzilla. Come here."

As Shadow turned her head, she was blind-sighted by the unexpected sensation of two warm hands cradling her face. Slitted pupils expanding until they almost obscured her irises completely, Shadow's breath caught in her throat as Timber gently brushed her bangs out of her face. With great care, she stroked a thumb just underneath her black eye, rubbing some soothing balm into Shadow's skin and being careful to go in the direction of her scales. "We're almost done," she murmured, completely oblivious to her effect on the other girl. "Just keep still and try to relax. Can you do that?"

"Uh - Sh - Tapee - I-I-I-I - !"

Stammering like an idiot, Shadow's brain seemed to stop working completely as the scales under Timber's hands lit up in a rosy glow. To her dismay, her usually sharp tongue seemed to have tied itself in knots, and unfortunately for her, there was no hiding from Timber now, not with the two of them so close to one another. As Shadow blabbered incoherently some more, Timber raised an eyebrow and snorted, smiling in a way that made Shadow's heart beat fast. "What's the matter, Godzilla? You forget how to talk?" A second later, her grin fell, and suddenly, she was holding Shadow by the shoulders and leaning in so close to her, the witchling could count every last eyelash and freckle. "Wait, DID you forget how to talk?! You fell off the roof earlier, right?! I thought the worst of that was the eye and the bruises, did you get brain damage too - ?!"

"I-I'm FINE!"

Turning away with a huff, the scales on Shadow's cheeks grew a deeper, richer pink as she refused to meet Timber's eyes. And yet, though she hated the way her mind stopped working all because of another girl. Shadow couldn't bring herself to pull away from Timber's warm, warm hands. This was the gentlest Timber had been with her all night, and as much as she hated herself for it, she loved every moment of it. It was addictive, the way Timber's soft brown human skin would come into contact with her own rough hide, and the heat that radiated from the other girl gave Shadow's cold-blooded body an unrivaled feeling of safety and comfort. The simple luxury of having Timber fawn over her when she was hurt, treating her with tenderness that no one, not even her own mother, had ever bothered to show her before....

Well. It was something she could really get used to.

Tail wagging back and forth happily behind her back (out of TImber's sight, thank goodness), Shadow stuck her nose in the air and put on a haughty face, pretending not to savor how much she was enjoying the attention. "D-Don't kid yourself, Springtime! It takes a lot more than a nasty fall to bring ME down, and you know it! Tch! 'Brain damage'....some healer YOU are..."

But then, her gaze wandered, and Shadow's eyes widened as she realized that Clay was now staring right at her.

Silent and stone-faced, the Dragon of Earth watched her quietly, unblinkingly, with a look on his face that was a little like suspicion and a LOT like barely hidden amusement. But before she could say anything about it, he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture that was both utterly alien and strangely, disgustingly...

...Comforting?

Mollified by the unexpected gesture, Shadow watched with wide, awkward eyes as Clay turned to Timber and gestured towards the array of medicinal supplies and plant cuttings all around them. "Welp. Reckon I should start cleaning this up." As he gathered everything up in his arms and rose to his feet, he glanced back at Shadow over his shoulder one last time. It was hard to tell through the black eye, but Shadow could have sworn she saw a flicker of warning and....and something else...passing over his sky-blue eyes. But a second later it was gone, and he turned his back other as he made his way to the other side of the room. "I'll be over here, girls. Holler if you need anything."

"Sure," answered Timber, watching him go with a smile. "Thanks, Nurse Clay."

"Anytime, Doc."

As Clay began to wash his hands in the sink, Shadow stared after him, sticking her forked tongue out at him behind his back. But then, a shining green light began to fill the room, as if an aurora borealis had been let loose in the Temple. As one of Timber's hands continued to rest just under her bruised eye, the Dragon of Wood brought her other hand down onto Shadow's hurt leg, her aura growing brighter and brighter as she activated the healing powers of her Wood element. Shadow didn't even bother to try to hide her amazement, jaw dropping in awe at both the wondrous sight and the rush of energy flooding her entire body. She could feel the power from Timber's fingertips coursing through her veins, could sense the way her element connected to the healing properties within the plant-based bandages and medicine all over her body. Under the bandages, the cuts on her skin began to close themselves up, the bruises becoming less and less tender as the dark purple faded back into her original skin color. Her bad ankle slowly began to fix itself, the aches and pains vanishing into thin air, and it wasn't long before Shadow could move it again, pointing her foot outward, then upward, over and over.

"Hold still," Timber reminded her, keeping her eyes closed as she maintained focus on her healing. "I'm almost done."

"R...Right. Sorry."

A silence fell over the room once more. As the Dragon of Wood healed her patient, Shadow watched work with quiet admiration, breathing in her smoky-piney scent and gazing with fondness at the way her green aura glinted off her eyelashes.

"So. You gonna tell me how it happened?"

"H-Huh?"

Caught by surprise, Shadow blinked as Timber opened her eyes. Her expression was stern, and, thanks to the bags under her eyes, worn and tired as well. It made Shadow's heart ache, and for the first time that night, she felt guilty about having pulled Timber out of bed and into the line of duty once again. "You're hurt. Again. This is the third time this month, Godzilla. How'd it happen?"

Shadow's eyes moved over her for a few seconds before she snorted and looked away. "Does it matter?"

"It does if it keeps happening," Timber answered. "It does if you keep getting yourself beaten up like this."

"Accidents happen."

"Yeah, but these wounds aren't an accident. Someone went after you. Someone was trying to hurt you. Like, REALLY hurt you. What have you been doing? What have you been up to?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Remember what I said the last time you came here? About picking fights?"

"....Nnnnno?"

"...I said no more picking fights, Shadow. Doctor's orders."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "What can I say, Springtime?" she said with a shrug. "I get into scraps, I get out of scraps. Happens a lot. Doesn't really bother me. Why should I keep track of every single tussle if there's always another one just down the road?"

That was the wrong answer. "So you're just...FINE with throwing yourself into danger and letting your body take the damage?" asked Timber, nose wrinkling and eyes hardening. "You're just gonna keep taking on one enemy after the other until one finally kills you? That's not...! Shadow! Who did this to you? Why?"

A darkness passed over Shadow's eyes, and her smug smirk grew grim and bitter. "What do YOU care?"

There was a beat of absolute silence between them. No words. No breathing. Nothing but an invisible wall resting between them. Keeping them separate. Keeping her out of Shadow's reach. But just before Shadow broke under the strain of the unspoken gap between them, Timber's fingers tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her pointed ear, and the Heylin witchling looked up in surprise, brows flying up at the look on the other girl's face.

"...I care," Timber whispered sadly.

Shadow's mouth fell open as she stared into Timber's sad, pleading eyes for a long, long time. Finally, she sighed wearily and gave up. "W...Wuya," she muttered, looking away guiltily as her hand came up to rest over Timber's. Leaning into Timber's touch and closing her eyes, Shadow focused on the warmth radiating from Timber's glowing palms, and the feeling of absolute safety it gave her. "I paid her a visit, and she...well. She didn't like it much." She sniffed, trying to push away the memories of the experience. "You know how Mother gets."

When Timber finally spoke, her voice was barely audible. But at the edges of every word, there was a touch of anger. But this time, it was an anger borne of worry. "Shadow, Wuya wants you DEAD. She'd do anything to see you six feet under and she'd love nothing more than to be the one who did it to you! Why...why would you - ?!"

"Mmph." Resisting the sudden urge to kiss the inside of her crush's wrist, Shadow pressed her cheek against Timber's hand one last time before pushing it away and sitting back. With a deep breath, she clapped her own hands together and began to mutter some incantations under her breath. Keeping her other hand on her bad leg and never letting up on the healing process, Timber watched with a puzzled look on her face as a smokey blue fire (not unlike Wuya's own) burst from Shadow's fingertips, and within the flames, something began to materialize. When it finally came forth, Timber's face fell in shock, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "That's....that's the - !"

"The Maiden's Hairpin," finished Shadow, pleased as punch by the other's starry-eyed expression. "Pretty, isn't it?"

Indeed it was. Carved from polished bone and inlaid with dozens of rubies that formed a large red spider lily, the Shen Gong Wu in Shadow's hand was nothing less than a work of art. Even in the green glow of Timber's Wood element, the jewels caught the light and refracted it back like a disco ball, dozens of bright red pinpricks dancing all over the walls like drops of fresh blood. As Shadow ran a thumb over the intricate patterns etched into the sides, her gaze grew thoughtful, and she couldn't stop the fondness from creeping into her voice. "It's a nifty little thingamajig, especially for women like us. I'm not one for hair decorations, not since - well, you know." Shadow gestured to her short locks. "But, when you've got something that glows and vibrates whenever danger is near...well. It helps you sleep a little more easily at night. It's quite a useful little trinket, this Shen Gong Wu."

As Timber was eyeing the artifact in raw curiosity, Shadow looked up and mustered up every last ounce of courage, scooting closer and tilting Timber's head to the side. With a serious, soft look in her eyes, she brought her braid up and arranged it into a round shape, gently sliding the Hairpin into place, until Timber's hair was pinned up in an elegant, ladylike bun. As Timber's cheeks heated up at what she'd just done, Shadow met her eyes and winked, cupping her chin affectionately. "Keep it safe for me, Springtime."

For a while, Timber couldn't seem to bring herself to speak. But at last, she spoke. "...Why?"

Shadow snorted and sat back with a smile and a shrug. "Why not?"

But Timber wasn't satisfied with that, and it wasn't long before Shadow buckled under the taller girl's sharp glare and raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay!" she sighed. "Look, MAYBE I was in the area when you challenged Mother to a Showdown for this Wu. And _maybe_ I didn't have anything better to do, so, you know...I-I stayed to watch."

"Y-You were watching...?"

"It's not a big deal!" Shadow huffed, looking away as her eyes flashed pink. "I've got all the time in the world, and I can do whatever I want with it!" Glancing back at Timber from the corner of her eye, Shadow tried to ignore the way her face grew hot as she stuck her forked tongue out at her like a petty child before continuing. "Look, you won that Showdown fair and square! You know it, I know it, the Dragons know it - WUYA KNOWS IT! And the fact that the Hairpin went to her because of a 'technicality' is insulting! That woman is....she's a disgrace is what she is! Always scheming and worming her way to the top....at least _I_ earn every last ounce of power I get! At least _I_ don't have to rely on outdated rules and convoluted loopholes to get what I want!"

"You...." As she began to put the pieces together, Timber leaned forward. "You risked getting _killed by Wuya_ just so you could get me a Shen Gong Wu?"

For a while, Shadow didn't answer, averting her eyes and feigning disinterest. But before long, her entire body lit up in the same, dazzling, lovesick pink that had shone in her eyes when she'd first seen Timber. And this time, it stayed long enough for Timber herself to notice. As she stared at Shadow in surprise, Shadow turned back to her, expression softening. "Do you...." she murmured, pausing to swallow nervously. "D-Do you like it?"

The two stared into each other's eyes for a long, long time, long enough for Timber to finish her healing without realizing it and the lighting in the room to go back to what it once was before. But neither noticed that their time together was at an end. For one terrible little piece of eternity, Shadow thought she had miscalculated, and her ears started to turn downwards as she curled into herself and braced for rejection. But then, slowly, so slowly, a shy look spread across Timber's face, and she cough nervously as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I... Um. You didn't...you shouldn't have risked your...I...uh. Wow. Thanks." Looking down at her lap shyly, she reached up and touched the bun Shadow had made, running her fingers along the Maiden's Hairpin as she smiled nervously. "Um. Does it...look nice?"

"...Yeah," Shadow breathed, lips curving up in a warm, genuine smile. "It does."

And that's when she saw it.

in the aftermath, Shadow would question why this had been the first time she'd even noticed it. It was right there, hanging around Timber's neck, and had presumably been there ever since she'd entered the room - though admittedly, it had been hidden underneath her shirt up until this point, and probably would have remained unnoticed if she hadn't been looking too close. But she had been, and as she stared at Timber, Shadow's gaze wandered downwards. A second later, her eyebrows flew up and her ears twitched in surprise as the warmth suddenly left her voice. "...What is _that?"_

"Huh?" Glancing down at herself for a moment, Timber looked back up and shrugged. "What is what?" 

"This." Eyes hardening, Shadow reached out and plucked at the necklace around Timber's neck, holding it up so they could both see it. "What is _this_ supposed to be?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes as the pink in her hair began to fade.

The necklace in question was a long cord made of silk fibers, fibers that had been elaborately woven together in a style that seemed vaguely familiar. There was something about the garish colors that just didn't sit right with Shadow - she knew Timber, and she wouldn't have picked this out for herself if she'd have had a choice. As she looked down at the strange trinket with suspicion, Shadow realized, with a growing anger, that this particular article of clothing smelled different than everything else Timber was wearing. "You...you never wear pink," she noted coldly, pupils dilating as the scent of floral shampoo began to tickle her nose. "You HATE pink."

"I....How did - ?" Not understanding where the conversation was going, Timber looked at Shadow as if she had two heads, glancing at the necklace self consciously until she finally pulled away. "Uh...I...USED to hate pink, yeah, but...I don't know. it's growing on me? I...Shadow, why are we even talking about this - ?"

"It was a gift then." Swallowing hard and trying to ignore the stinging sensation just behind her eyes, Shadow sat back, her mouth stretching out into a thin, tight line. "You didn't find that yourself. Someone gave it to you. Who?"

But Shadow already knew the answer. She knew it from the faint yet familiar scents embedded into the fibers - burning parchment, strawberry mochi, bubble tea, vanilla perfume. She knew it from the flashy, TASTELESS colors of the silk cords that only _one person_ in the entire Temple could have picked out, the only person in the Xiaolin Dragons who showed up to battle in outrageous, impractical outfits that made her want to vomit. Oh yes, she knew who it was from the pattern that she now realized she had once seen before, worn as a bracelet on that same person's wrist during their last altercation, and as it all began to sink in, her jaw dropped open as a blush spread across Timber's features. Lowering her gaze, Timber looked away, but there was no hiding the bashfulness in her eyes, or the way she held a hand to the necklace around her neck and pressed it closer to her heart.

"Um...K-Kimiko. I...I-I-I got it from K-Kimiko."

She had expected that answer. But hearing it out loud, spoken by Timber no less, didn't make it any easier to swallow. "....Kimiko," echoed Shadow tonelessly, her vision beginning to become unfocused.

From somewhere far away, Timber's vice piped up again, shaky and nervous in a way that felt like a stab to Shadow's gut. "Y-Yeah. She wove it together herself with a kit her sister sent over from Tokyo. It's called...Kumihimo? I think? It's a traditional Japanese art form for making braids and cords. S-She's been really crafty lately and during some down time last week - "

"Kimiko."

"She asked me if it was something I was interested in learning. We sat together all afternoon - "

"Kimiko."

"I kept messing the pattern up, and her cords got all tangled a couple of times - "

"Kimiko."

"But in the end we got the hang of it, so we made each other friendship bracelets!" Pausing, Timber pulled off the bubblegum pink cord around her neck and wrapped it around her wrist three or four times, eyeing the dangling half-heart charm with a fondness that made Shadow want to explode. "Well, mine WAS supposed to be a bracelet, but...well...she made it a little long. But I mean, I don't mind though. It's pretty, and it means a lot to me. It's the first friendship thing I've ever gotten in my life, and....Shadow?"

Timber was now staring at Shadow, and so was Clay, who had turned around the moment he had sensed a change in the atmosphere around him. But Shadow didn't seem to hear or see either of them. In fact, she didn't seem to even know where or when she was. Frozen on the ground with a stricken look on her face, she stared into nothing, utterly still and utterly silent.

But her skin.

The scales on her arms, legs and face were changing color, once again. But this time, there was something off about the way it was happening. Sometimes the colors would seem to 'hiccup' and shift from one hue to another, glitching out so fast that Clay AND Timber barely had time to recognize them. Other times, they would appear splotchy and uneven, and the effect was as if Shadow had been attacked with several paint-filled balloons at all angles - something that neither Dragons had ever seen before, not once in all the time they'd known the witchling. But through it all, through the glitches and the hiccups and the splotches that flashed across their visions like lightning, there was one, steady tone, slowly taking over her body and building in intensity from the top of her head to the tip of her tail - 

A deep, sorrowful blue.

Not understanding what was happening, Timber exchanged a brief glance with Clay before looking back down at the girl in front of her. "Shadow? Are...are you okay?"

Shadow didn't respond, but as the storm brewing within her grew more turbulent and unbearable, her body began to move on its own. As she rose to her feet, the ringing inner ears grew louder and louder, blocking out all other sounds as her breathing began to grow labored and uneven. She didn't seem to notice when she marched past Clay and headed out the door. Her normally sensitive hearing did not register Raimundo's questions as he reacted to her unexpected presence while she wandered out into the hall, and she did not react when a sleepy Jack rounded the corner in search of an early morning cup of coffee and squealed in surprise when he recognized who was moving past him. She was completely disconnected from the world around her. Time didn't seem to make sense anymore as Shadow walked and walked and WALKED, not caring where she was headed, but knowing deep in her heart that she no longer belonged here.

Kimiko. Of course. What else had she expected? Petite, perky, and feminine, that pesky little Firefly broke hearts wherever she walked. According to Le Mime's gossip blog, there were quite a few young monks in the Xiaolin order who had fallen head over heels for Little Miss Perfect and those frilly, fruu fruu outfits she was famous for, and really, no matter how much she insulted her, it wasn't very hard for Shadow to see WHY. She was _everything_ Shadow wasn’t. Smart, rich, popular, charismatic, talented, BEAUTIFUL - Firefly was everyone's type. Of course it was only a matter of time before that vicious little harpy sunk her claws into Timber. Poor girl never had a chance. As fellow Xiaolin Dragons, they spent every waking moment together after all. They trained together. They fought together. They ate together. They slept together.

The blues on Shadow's body began to fade into red as she remembered that Kimiko and Timber were roommates. Most likely than not, Kimiko was the very first person who Timber said hello to in the morning, and the very last person she spoke to in the night. They were also the only two girls in the whole Xiaolin Temple, and from what Ashley had once told her during their last heist together, Kimiko had always, ALWAYS hoped for another female on the team to become - BLEGH - _gal pals_ with. Which meant that she'd latched onto Timber the SECOND she came to live at the Temple. As the tears began to fall and her fury began to rise, thoughts chased each other round and round Shadow's head, the pressure behind her skull almost unbearable at this point. How long? How long had it taken her to win Timber's heart? When did it happen? Before the sun rose, during morning exercises when all was peaceful? in the heat of battle, when danger was everywhere they looked and all they had was each other? Late at night, when the two were alone, whispering secrets and stories and in-jokes to each other under the covers until the sun rose? Had it been fast? Had it happened slowly? Was it right after Timber joined the Dragons? Was it a week ago, when that tart made her that hideous bracelet that had APPARENTLY won her over so much?

When had she lost the most important person in her life...to _Kimiko Tohomiko?_

The reds were everywhere now. They bled out of her skin and onto the walls, onto the floorboards, into the moonlight and the vast, incomprehensible landscape all around her. And it wasn't just red anymore either, it was blue, and green, and yellow, and grey, and the pink was still there but it was different now, uglier somehow. It was raw and vulnerable and disgusting to look at, and the longer it filled her vision, the more it filled Shadow with a sense of shame and guilt and self-hatred and heartbreak. Reality didn't seem to exist anymore for some reason. Everything was just... _colors,_ too bright and too garish and so overwhelming that Shadow couldn't even THINK, and everything in her told her to RUN, to LEAVE, to move and keep moving and never look back. Someone called out her name, but when Shadow looked over her shoulder, all she saw were shapes, and the shapes spoke nonsense, murmuring and caterwauling and crying in sympathetic, patient voices that made her skin crawl don't pity me don't pity me don't pity me _how dare you pity me, **I'll kill you if you pity me -** _

The shapes were everywhere now, surrounding her, cornering her, boxing her in, and out of nowhere someone began to scream at them, telling them to leave her alone, warning them to go away, begging them to go away, in a shattered, scared voice that she did not immediately recognize.

It took far too long for Shadow to realize that the voice was her own.

Frightened and disoriented, a flash of smoke and shadows erupted from Shadow's palm, and suddenly the Blue Moon Blade gleamed bright and true in the technicolor landscape, its sleek, dangerous shape giving Shadow a sense of comfort and safety. As her tears poured down her face like a waterfall, Shadow held the blade in front of her, spitting and yowling and cursing up into the endless, sketchy landscape around her, no longer speaking words, but the same strange gibberish the shape-things were whispering to each other in.

"ajbkjd! knlajdknknl! ljsnclknldknldwblwbndwleou have to calm down, we're just trying to help you! Shadow?! SHADOW!"

Suddenly, without her realizing it, one shape had suddenly appeared on her left. Wild-eyed and hysterical, Shadow whirled around to face it, hands shaking so much that her precious Blade fell right out of her hands and disappeared into the yawning darkness below her feet. Breathing hard and filled with too many colors for her to understand, Shadow unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth like a wild animal. "LEAVE! ME! **ALONE!"**

_SHING._

As Shadow swiped her claws across the shape-thing's face, it flew back a good four or five feet, crashing into the ground and crying out in a sharp, high voice. But somewhere between the moment her nails had come into contact with it and the moment it hit the ground, it had come back into focus and changed into a person again. Clutching at the side of its face with both hands, it whimpered and gasped in pain, and when it finally turned around to look at Shadow...

...Her big brown eyes were shining with tears.

"T...Timber...!" Face falling and breath catching in her throat, Shadow stood frozen as she realized what she had done.

All too fast, the disorienting colors all around her seemed to disappear as the world return to normal, as the sound of crickets filled her ears and the world changed from an incomprehensible, endless landscape to the Xiaolin Temple grounds once more. The shape-things that had surrounded her before? They were the Dragons, staring at her with confusion and anger and fear on their faces as Shadow turned this way and that to face them all, trying to understand what had just happened. But then the smell of fresh blood filled her nose, and when she turned back to look at Timber, she could already see red again, oozing out of the side of her face from the three deep gashes she had given her only moments ago. The sight of the blood pouring out from between her fingers and dribbling out onto the grass under their feet was almost too much for Shadow, but she didn't matter right now, TIMBER mattered, and with a shaky voice, she reached out and called out her name. "Tim....Timber...Timber, I'm so - !"

_WHOOSH._

Before Shadow could take a single step forward, a pillar of flame billowed out from somewhere on her right and sent her stumbling backwards, the smell of singed grass filling the air as Shadow narrowly avoided being cooked alive. Falling to the ground with a thump, Shadow scrambled to get back up, but suddenly there was something cold and sharp at her throat. As the Blue Moon Blade glinted under the light of the stars overhead, Kimiko glared down at Shadow, shielding Timber with her short, tiny frame. As her body erupted into a swell of bright orange flames, she stepped forward, eyes filled with raw hatred as she spoke in a low register Shadow had never heard her speak in before.

_**"Don't you touch her!"** _

The flames were brighter now, hotter, sweltering, and they weren't just orange either. As the fires spread and surrounded Shadow in a perfect circle, they were like a terrible rainbow, bright and hot and blinding. And yet despite this outward show of fury, all was quiet, all was far too quiet, as the Dragon of Fire and the Heylin witchling stared each other down, both breathing hard, both sweating bullets. They refused to move first, to react first, even as Jack and Clay stepped forward to help Timber, or when Jermaine, Omi and Raimundo surrounded the ring of fire with stone-cold expressions on their faces. As Kimiko narrowed her eyes in contempt at the girl sprawled out in front of her, and the flames grew even hotter, Shadow's expression changed from one of fear to one of fury, and for the final time, she changed color. As her skin, hair and eyes shone a toxic, vicious green, she glared at the Dragon of Fire and roared like the monster she thought she was before transforming into a ball of smoke and escaping into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit 1/13/2021: cleaned up some sentences and improved word flow.


End file.
